Floor covering



Patented Oct. 12,1937

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,095,246 FLooa covaanwa James E. Graham,Needham, and Edwin M. Lines, Dedham, Mass, assignors to Bird & Son,Inc., East Walpole, Masa, a corporation of Massachusetts No Drawing.Application February Serial No; 62,434

13 Claims;

of the general character described and claimed in our Patent No.1,971,036, dated August 21, 1934, with respect to which the presentinvention is in certain aspects an improvement.

The present invention, in common with that of the said patent, includesthe printing on a per-.

meable or porous medium in the nature of a partially completed wearinglayer with a coloring material, preferably in a.drying-oil binder, but,differing from the invention of said patent asdisclosed therein, thepresent. invention involves the printing upon the permeable medium witha binder pigmented with two wholly diiferent types of pigment, one ofwhich types, namely, the coloring pigment, is herein termed 'pene- 0trating pigment and the other type, the noncoloring and smoothingpigment, is herein termed surface pigment", as hereinafter described,with resultant advantages in product and process. The

advantages in the product include a materially smoother, harder, andhence more wear-resistant surfacewhich is of particular advantage in themanufacture of a less expensiveproduct having a relatively thinnerwearing layer (say .010 to .012"), though also is of advantage in aproduct '5 having a thicker wearing layer, even up to as thick as.030"., In addition, it is possible, particularly inthe thinner and lessexpensive products hereof, successfully to put on by the printingmachine more coloring material and in less time than would be otherwisefeasible. The prodnot also exhibits more accurate lines and betterdefinition of the design elements than has heretofore been practical orpossible,all of which are conducive to-a moreserviceable and more 0attractive product. Various process and manu-,

facturing advantages are also secured by this invention in that thecoloring medium may be more rapidly and more accurately printed on andso that it will be substantially free from flooding,

binder printed thereon as compared with-the thickness of the materialprinted. .It is of par? ticular advantage that the printing of thematerial of this invention may be more rapidly suc- 50 cessfully printedfor each print machine represents a very substantial item of cost(costing upwards of $100,000). Also, frommore rapid print-w ing variousother advantages'follow, for example, better control on the printmachine, and in 55 reducing the drying time and hence the cost thereofbecause of resultant saving in space, stock in process, etc.

'In the commercial practice of the invention of said patent, thecoloring materials employed have included dyes and pigments and whenpigments have been employed they have ordinarily been. first mixed withadditional or filling binder and applied by printing to the partiallycompleted Wearing layer by the application thereto of the colored bindermade up principally of drying oil and ordinary relatively fine coloringpigments the size of which was such as to permit them to pass.

and penetrate (though materially slower than dyes and with a tendency toflood) down through the interstices and into the body of the partiallycompleted porous wearing layer in order to fill the same and provide afirm, hard, wear-resistant surface.

The floor covering of this invention embodies a wearing layer ofsubstantial thickness made preferably from the novel plastic compositionof said patent including a wood powder and primary 7 binder with mineralpigment, which layer is frictioned in layer form (.0l5'-' to .030"thick) in situ as it is applied to a base or backing of woven or feltedsheet material-all as more fully described in our said patent. Thethickness of the wearing layer structure in the case of the. presentinvention, however, may be practically and commercially reduced to athickness of .010 or even slightly less and still be properly andrapidly printed without spreading out or running, commonly termedbleeding or flooding, to provide I the product having the abovedescribed advan-,

tages. Heretofore it has been particularly dimcult if not impossiblepractically to print with a pigmented colored binder and withoutflooding I a thin layer of say .010 thick. We have found in practicethat we can rapidly print with an ordinary commercial print machine andapply to the porous foundation layer a relatively large amount ofpigmented drying oil binder material without flooding. by providing acolored binder material including a drying oil (together with despitethe relatively large amount of colored any resinous materials desired)pigmented with relatiyely fine homogeneously dispersed coloring pigment,for example, what are known commercially; as flushed pigments or finelyground wet pigments, plus a relatively large quantity of substantiallycolorless pigment, of the class known and described in technicalliterature as mineral whites, which are practically transparent in oilowing to. their low refractive power. The latter class of pigments isrelatively coarse, of the order of 5 to 150 microns, as compared withthe dispersed penetrating and coloring pigments which are ordinarily ofthe order of 1 to 3 microns, though ranging down to as small as .2micron in the case of carbon black.

A typical pigmented colored binder material suitable for printing theproduct as herein described is as follows (all parts being by weight)100 parts of binder material (for example, oil or oils such as linseedor China-wood, resins, etc.)

25-125 parts of surface pigment, i. e. mineral whites, ,(for example,barytes, whiting, asbestine or talc) 2-25 parts of pentrating pigment,i. e. dispersed pigment (flushed pigments or finely ground wetpigments).

The above example has been found in practice to be entirelysatisfactory, and preferably thinning material is omitted, but, ifdesired, a small amount of thinner may be added, particularly if arelatively large amount of resin be included. Ordinarily in practice,and for most colors which it is desired to employ in the design, theaggregate amount of pigment is roughly equal to the amount of binderbut, as will be seen from the above example, the amount of pigment maybe substantially reduced so that, for example, its amount is butone-half of the amount of binder.

The printing of the intermediate product is preferably done by printingona fiat bedprint machine with the same type of print blocks as arecommercially used for printing felt base rugs. Despite the factthat theholes or openings in the porous base product may be of the order of 10to 50 microns, paradoxically,the mineral whites or colorless pigments.for the most part.

tend to remain at or near the surface of the printed product (though donot prevent the penetration by the penetrating pigment) and hence areherein termed "surface pigments whereas the dispersed pigments readilypass through and from the agglomerated mineral white pigment and welldown into the body of the porous layer through at least a major portionof its vertical depth to present the design therein. Upon the hardeningof the printed binder material it thereupon converts the printed layerinto a highly desirable smooth wearing surface as herein described andin which the surface pigmentsfill and smooth the surface and provide asmooth wear-resistant layer hardened and densifled by the largeproportion of mineral white pigments at and near the surface thereof,which pigments however do not appreciably affect the color or appearanceor penetration by the penetrating pigments which color and decorate saidwearing layer at its exposed surface and through the major portion ofits vertical depth. Thus, the

surface pigments serve in a dual capacity, first d theactual printing asa control phase of pi ment to prevent flooding and later functiontoiprovide a smooth and wear-resistant surface, w ereas the penetratingpigments serve as a colorin phase to pass down into the body of thesheet and there remain despite subsequent wear, to provide an attractivedesign.

- The function of the surface pigments therefore is purely orsubstantially mechanical as distinguished from the optical or coloringeffect 0 the pentrating pigment.

Having described our invention, what we wish to claim'and secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A hard-surfaced flexible floor covering comprising a base with awearing layer formed from I aoeaa se a porousmaterial adhesively unitedthereto, a substantial quantity of translucent substantially colorlesssurface pigment held at and near the exposed surface of said'layer by ahardened binder materialjand a quantity of colored relatively finepenetrating pigment also held by said binder material and extending fromthe exposed surface of said wearing layer down through at least a majorportion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting aprinted colored design therein and on the wearing surface thereof, andwith the color of said design substantially unaflected by said surfacepigment.

2. A hard-surfaced flexible floor covering comprising a base with awearing layer formed from a porous material adhesively united thereto, aquantity of relatively large-size translucent substantially colorlesssurface pigment held at and i near the exposed surface of said layer bya hardened binder material, and a quantity ofboiored .ored designtherein and on the wearing surface thereof, and with the color of saiddesign substantially unaffected by said surface pigment.

3. A hard-surfaced flexible floor covering comprising a base with awearing layer formed from --a porous material adhesively united thereto,a

substantial quantity of translucent substantially colorless surfacepigment substantially all of which is held at and near the exposedsurface of said layer by a hardened binder material, and

a substantial amount of colored relatively fine penetrating pigment alsoheld by said binder material and extending from the exposed surface ofsaid wearing layer down through at least a major portion of the verticaldepth of said wearing layer and presenting a printed colored designtherein and on the wearing surface thereof, and with the color of saiddesign substantially unaffected by said surface pigment. 7

l. A hard-surfacedflexible floor covering comprising a base with awearing layer formed from a porous material adhesively united thereto, asubstantial quantity of relatively large-size translucent substantiallycolorless surface pigment substantially all of which is held at and nearthe exposed surface of said layer by a hardened binder material, and asubstantial amount of colexposed surface of said wearing layer downthrough at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearinglayer and presenting a printed colored design therein and on the wearingsurface thereof, andwith the color of said design substantiallyunaffected by said surface pigment.

5. A hard-surfaced flexible floor ,covering comprisinga base with awearing layer formed from a plastic porous material adhesively unitedthereto, a substantial quantity of translucent substantially colorlesssurface pigment held at and near the exposed surface of said layer by ahardened binder material, and a quantity of colored relatively fine"penetrating pigment also held by said binder material and extending fromthe exposed surface of said wearing layer down through at least a majorportion of the vertical depth'of said wearing layer and presenting aprinted colored design therein and on the wearing surface of coloredrelatively fine penetrating pigment also held by said binder'materialand extending from the exposed surface of said wearing layer downthrough at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearinglayer and presenting a printed colored design therein and on the wearingsurface thereof, and with the color of said design substantiallyunaffected by said surface 3 pigment.

7. A hard-surfaced flexible floor covering, comprising a base with awearing layer formed from a plastic porous material adhesively unitedthereto, a substantial quantity of translucent substantially colorlesssurface pigment held at and near I the exposed surface of said layer bya hardened drying oil binder material, and a substantial amount ofcolored relatively flne penetrating pig- 'ment also held by said bindermaterial and extending from the exposed surface of said wearing layerdown through at least a major portion of to, a substantial quantity ofrelatively large-size translucent substantially colorless surfacepigment substantially all of which is held at and near the exposedsurface of said layer by a hardened dryingoil binder material, and asubstantial amount of colored relatively flne penetrating piginent alsoheld by said binder material and extending from the exposed surface ofsaid wearing layer down through at least a major portion-- of thevertical depth of said wearing layer-and presenting a printed coloreddesign therein and on the wearing surface thereof, and with the color ofsaid designrsubstantially unaffected by said surface pigment.

9. The method of making a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering materialwhich consists in frictioning to a. flexible base a wearing layer ofsubstantial thickness of plastic material and thereby adhesively unitingthe same thereto, drying the intermediate product. thus formed, and thenprinting upon the exposed surface of said material with a liquidhardenable binder material including therein a substantial quantity oftranslucent, substantially colorless, surface pigment and a quantity ofcolored,'relatively flne, penetrating pigment to provide aprinted,,colored design extending dpwn through at least a major portionof the vertical depth of said wearing layer and with the colored designsubstantially unaffected by said surface pigment on the wearing surfacethereof. I

10.. The method of making a hard-surfaced flexible floor coveringmaterial which consists in frictioning to a flexible base a wearinglayer of substantial thickness of plastic material and therebyadhesively uniting the same thereto, drying the intermediate productthus formed, and

then printing upon the exposed surface of said 7 material with a dryingoil binder material includwith the colored design substantiallyunaffected by said surface pigment on the wearing surface thereof. a

11. The method of making ahard-surfaced flexible floor covering materialwhich consistsin frictioning to a flexible base a wearing layer ofsubstantial thickness of plastic material and thereby adhesively unitingthe same thereto, drying 'the intermediate product thus formed, and thenprinting upon the exposed surface of said material with a liquid dryingoil binder material including therein a substantial quantity oftranslucent, substantially colorless, relatively large-size surfacepigment and a quantity of colored, relatively flne, penetrating pigmentto provide a printed, colored design extending down through at least amajor portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and with thecolored design substantially unaffected by said surface pigment on thewearing surface thereof.

12. The method of making a hard-surfaced, flexible floor coveringmaterial which consists of frictioning to a flexible base, a wearinglayer of substantial thickness of plastic material and therebyadhesively uniting the same thereto, drying the intermediate productthus formed, and then printing upon the exposed surface of said materialwith a liquid hardenable binder material including therein a substantialquantity of relatively coarse translucent substantially colorlesssurface pigment and also including a quantity of colored, relativelyfine penetrating pigment, to provide in the finished material a printedcolored design visible at the surface thereof, and extending downthrough at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said' wearinglayer and with the relatively coarse surface pigment substantially atthe wearing surface thereof.

13. The method of making a hard-surfaced, flexible floor coveringmaterial which consists of frictioning to a flexible base, a wearinglayer of substantial thickness of plastic material andthereby adhesivelyuniting the same thereto, drying the intermediate product thus formed,-and then printing upon the exposed surface of said material with aliquid drying oil binder material including thereln a substantialquantity of relatively coarse translucent substantially colorportion ofthe vertical depth ofsaid wearing layer and with the relatively coarsesurface pigment substantiallyat the wearing surface thereof.

JAMES E. GRAHAM.

EDWIN M. LINES.

